West Midlands Police use entertainments company Eventbrite to allocate seats
at hearing of officer found to have cannabis in system while on duty

Kirk Van NiekerkPhoto: Newsteam / SWNS

By Agency

4:17PM BST 09 Aug 2015

A shamed officer sacked for smoking cannabis has criticised a police force for handing out tickets to his public misconduct hearing.

Kirk Van Niekerk, 32, was caught when a colleague smelled cannabis coming from his car at 3am on November 19 last year.

The father of one, who moved to the UK from South Africa in 2002, repeatedly denied ever smoking the drug on duty but tests revealed he had it in his system. He was sacked after a panel found him guilty of gross following a public misconduct hearing in Birmingham on July 30.

But Mr Van Niekerk, who was not present at the hearing, has now criticised West Midlands Police for using entertainments company Eventbrite to allocate seats at the high-profile hearing.

West Midlands Police have been accused of turning misconduct hearings into 'public entertainment' Photo: BPM MEDIA

The firm, which usually promotes entertainment events, welcomed people booking tickets by saying: "We hope you enjoy West Midlands Misconduct Hearing - Pc Van Niekerk, Cheers!" West Midlands Police has since admitted it "got it wrong", while frontline officers have likened the approach to a public flogging.

Speaking out for the first time, Mr Van Niekerk said: "It's a joke. They are making all these cuts and they are hiring a company to supply tickets with my name on them.

'The tickets have been allocated by a supplier like they are tickets to a concert. It feels more like entertainment for the public...'

- West Midlands Police insider

"I don't feel they should be held publicly, I don't think it should go all round the country - people's names in the TV and the papers. I was even afraid to go to my daughters school to pick her up.

"Am I angry? Towards Theresa May, yes. They hide the names of murderers and paedophiles, but they name me for something that isn't criminal. As an officer, I was liked, even by the people I arrested. I spoke to everyone respectfully."

Police chiefs have also admitted the force's first public misconduct hearing, held at Highbury Hall in Moseley, Birmingham, could have been handled better.

Deputy Chief Constable Dave Thompson, who chaired the panel which sacked Mr Van Niekerk, said: "Final comment. Police misconducts in public is now the law.

"We need to consider how we manage public access. We got this wrong and will fix."

Condemning the move, Ian Edwards, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, added: "We were very surprised and it did not sit well with us. It is pretty insensitive and it will change, we hope to be a part of that process."

A force insider has also described the method used as "crass" and said the session had been turned into something akin to a "public flogging".

He added: "The tickets have been allocated by a supplier like they are tickets to a concert. It feels more like entertainment for the public.

"I understand the argument that there should be transparency, but the way this has been done does not seem to reflect the seriousness of how the officers and the allegations against them should be dealt with.

"This is making some officers very uneasy. On top of that we have the cost of hiring venues like this for the purpose of public hearings when the force is so short of cash."

Ticket to the misconduct hearing of PC Van Niekerk Photo: BPM MEDIA

Married Mr Niekerk, who has a five-year-old daughter, was found guilty of charges of gross misconduct for breaching standards of professional behaviour of honesty, integrity, fitness for duty and discreditable conduct.

The hearing was told a fellow officer came across his car parked at the entrance of a park in Birmingham and was alerted to the strong smell of cannabis inside the vehicle.

A later drug test showed traces of cannabis in Mr Van Niekerk's system three times the accepted cut-off for passive smoking.

The panel heard the officer, who had an unblemished six-year career with the force, had smoked the Class B drug in his car - something he still denies.

Kirk Van Niekerk Photo: Newsteam / SWNS Group

Mr Van Niekerk added: "I am not a habitual user of cannabis, I don't smoke cigarettes. Four days before, I smoked a joint at a party. That was a big no-no, that was a massive mistake, but I cannot pretend it didn't happen.

"I would not smoke a joint on duty, in uniform in a patrol car. I approached the officer, he didnt approach me. I pulled my car up alongside.

"I honestly thought it would be out of my system, but it wasnt. I lied in interview and said I'd never used cannabis, that was a big mistake. Before the test came back, I felt I needed to come clean. I told my officer the test may come back positive.

"Four or five days later they came back positive and I was suspended there and then. My wife was upset, my family were upset. They called me back in, they interviewed me again, I gave them the full story and that was that."